1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of snowboard bindings and more specifically to a convenience-type tool-less manual quick release binding system in general for securing items such as a video kit, storage container or other accessory which can be directly mounted onto a snowboard or similar sports board via the binding.
2. The Prior Art
Snowboarding was developed in the 1960s and 1970s and has become a popular world wide winter sport. One major difference between snowboarding and skiing is the use of a single board having two spaced apart bindings for a person's feet instead of two separate skis each with a binding for an individual foot.
Often times when snowboarding, backpacks, camel packs or fanny packs are used to store personal items whereas in many cases it is impractical to safely keep such objects on the person while participating in the sport. This is especially true when utilizing chair lifts to access slopes. Not only would it be advantageous to be able to carry personal items when snow boarding, it would also be advantageous to be able to carry emergency equipment.
Recently, video technology has been prolific in social forums such as You Tube, Face Book and My Space. Capturing, sharing and archiving one's life in this manner has become a voyeuristic pastime. Snowboarding is no different. It would be advantageous to be able to easily and rapidly provide this functionality.
While fatigue is a concern, the above mentioned methods for carrying personal items with added weight can cause a shift in the user's center of gravity resulting in an unnecessary fall. Even a moderate fall can be damaging to the personal items or injurious to the user as these items are in physical contact to the body such as a fanny pack against the user's spine or abdomen. Additionally, body packs not properly secured to the rider can eject forcefully away from them during impact with the ground.
Notwithstanding falling, ingress and egress onto a chairlift with a backpack or camel pack compels a user to sit more forwardly on the seat than is safe and would necessitate adjustment of the backpack or camel pack each and every time a rider uses a chairlift. Additionally, larger backpacks might necessitate placing the pack on one's lap which may fall off of the chairlift creating danger to passersby below. The present invention solves these problems by placing the pack securely on the top surface of the snowboard and beneath a rider's center of gravity thereby unaffecting performance.
Although a ski/snowboard pack patent has been addressed in U.S. Pat. No. D423,618 for ornamental purposes, a snowboard-mounted container or pack has been addressed in United States Patent Publication No. US 2004/0251287 A1 for mounting a storage container for tools and accessories onto a snowboard, U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,682 which shows a small storage compartment mounted on a snowboard for the principally expressed purpose of theft prevention, U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,103 which is a storage pack removable from the snowboard in the form of a waist pack, U.S. Pat. No. 7,658,413 which attaches a retractable snow pole to a snowboard binding, none of these prior art patents, or the prior art in general has provided a tool-less manual quick release binding system for a container, device or accessory onto a snowboard via the snowboard binding which is secure under rigorous use but detachable with ease when desired. It should also be noted that the above referenced patents are with respect to containers and snow poles attached to a snowboard and does not refer to the general and crowded field of snow board bindings.
While the field of prior art regarding snowboard bindings principally teaches the securing of a boot to a snowboard via the snowboard binding, it must be stressed that none of these prior art patents teach the securing of attachable accessories to the snowboard via the snowboard binding illustrating the new and novel basis of the present invention.